That's a different issue really, I was talking about the general principle of only planning to have kids if you can afford it (so the contraception point is moot also).

That is so general a principle that I think it becomes obliterated by reality. That's not to say that it is a bad principle and people shouldn't make a genuine attempt to adhere to it. The problem is that you can do all the planning, have kids, but then find out that your means have totally changed; e.g you've lost your job, your spouse or partner have left you, you get maimed in an accident, you get attacked and left with a disability or begin to suffer from a mental illness etc.

I don't think there's anyone who can't identify the problems related to unemployment. That's the easy part. Everyone I know realises that many jobs in this country don't pay a living wage and therefore you get into the dilemma of the morality of not working when you wouldn't be too better off in some jobs. That's why I'm sceptical about headlines such as these. They're normally just talk and shuffling exercises to get people off official statistics.